Damaged Feathers
by Raven Of Dark
Summary: No one expected her. But there she lay, broken and bruised. The only question is how to go about making things right for everyone? (Mature for themes of abuse)
1. Chapter 1

He could say that he'd seen worse scenes then what he was currently observing. Hell, he'd cleaned up remains of aliens and small wars longer than most of the agents swarming around him have been alive.

But what he hadn't seen too many times in his life, thankfully, was the broken forms of children; this one seemed the absolute worst and that was saying something because he's seem a lot of disturbing things in his lifetime. He wasn't expecting to find an abuse case amidst the charred remains of the small British neighborhood due to his resident superheroes battling the newest threat of an old foe nor was he expecting to find survivors: but that was exactly what he found. Somehow, there were a dozen or so surviving members of Privet Drive that were pulled from the rubble of their homes, including the teenage girl wrapped in a shock blanket sitting in front of him. He could see the neighbors side eyeing the girl, disgust filled looks not compatible to their soot and dirt covered faces; he could hear their whispered conversations as they passed, the words 'delinquent' and 'trouble maker' the most common.

Appearances weren't anything to go by, if Natasha was any example, but he couldn't see it and refused to judge the shivering girl before knowing everything first; she looked as if a single touch would shatter her bruised and broken frame. He moved to kneel in front of the girl, frowning when she instantly flinched and moved back from him, hitting the wall of the ambulance with a soft thud and a whispered " _I'm sorry_."

"You're alright sweetheart, you're not in trouble. My name is Director Phil Coulson. I represent Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division or S.H.E.I.L.D for short; we're here to help with everything that's happened. It's partially our fault, what with our guys fighting near her-" He paused when the girl's wide green eyes watched him with fear and confusion. "Alright let's try this, what's your name? Only fair-I gave you mine."

He could see her breathing pick up, eyes widening at his request. Her shaking was more prominent and was causing her whole form to move in the seat she was occupying. But, Phil could see her trying to respond, gripping the soft cloth of the blankets before moving back towards him. "It-it's…my name is…" Her eyes dart around, as if looking for a threat, which he no doubt knew she had, before drawing a small breath. "O-Olivia Po-Potter." Her voice cracked and he could tell she was in a great amount of pain from injuries that were _not_ from the massive explosion that had rocked her neighborhood along with the five surrounding ones.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ms Potter. I'm going to get you some help, alright? Get the medics over to get you to a local hosp-"

"No!" Panicked is the only word Phil could use to describe Olivia at that moment, suddenly & fearfully clutching his sleeve, her bruised and battered arms now revealed to him. "Please no hospitals, please." Tears filled her emerald eyes, twisting his stomach.

"Alright, it's okay. No hospitals, but you still need to be looked over. Will you let my medic look you over? She's one of the best." He kept his voice calm and level, never losing eye contact with her. "Her name is Jemma, you'll like her."

Her fingers gripped his jacket tighter. "No hospitals?" Again her voice cracked, causing Phil to want to cover her in bubble wrap and stash her away from any further harm. When he nodded, she relaxed a little before nodding slowly, letting him stand up and turn, just in time to see his second in command approach him.

"Ah, Agent May. Meet Olivia Potter, our guest for however long it takes Simmons to look her over & patch her up. Can you let her know we're bringing her a patient?" Phil ignored Melinda's raised brow, waiting patiently for a reply.

Eventually the woman sighed, nodding before turning back towards the van, currently holding three members of his team. He turned to the phone in his hand, going over random specks briefly, long enough to see the teenager's anxiety level settle enough for her to move safely. "Right, let's get you to Simmons."

Not for the first time, she flinched back when he reached out to help her stand. He would have backed off and not touched her, but when she stood and stumbled on her clearly broken ankle, his arms wrapped around her shoulders, ignoring her jolt backwards. "Breath sweetheart, you're okay, I swear I won't hurt you." His voice was whispered, trying to calm her. "You cannot and will not walk on that ankle without help. If I thought you'd let me, I'd carry you to the van, but I'm betting you're too proud." He smiled a little when she gave a small nod, relaxing enough for him to move them to the waiting doctor; Phil could see Jemma fidgeting in place watching them approach. He could also see her dark eyes taking in the teen, anger sparking within in them; Phil could see the bio-chemist becoming attached quickly to Olivia-not that he would fault the older woman.

"Ah finally sir, let's get her in here." Simmons' soft accent caused Olivia's head to snap towards the older Brit, eyes wide. "Hi there, I'm Jemma. I'm going to help patch your wounds up and see if we can get that ankle set."

Phil watched the teen carefully go over Jemma's words in her mind- he could almost see the wheels turning- before she nodded, pain flashing in her emerald eyes, allowing herself moved from his grasp to Jemma's and to be moved into the van, Phil following the pair after a brief look around the surrounding area, noting the contentment the teen's neighbors still sent her way with concern for Olivia and irritation at the sheepness of the neighborhood.

* * *

Terror filled screams quickly encompassed the hidden base, pulling almost everyone out of their beds to the medical ward, finding the teenager in the corner of her bed, arched up off of it, her face a map of torment as the shrieks tear through her lips. The sounds twists Phil's stomach from the sheer amount of pain that emanates from Olivia, something he had only heard a few times in his life; if he had any doubt left that taking her away from Surrey was ill advised, this erased it.

"Someone hold her down, she's ripped open her sutures and she's bleeding out." Jemma's voice cut through his thoughts as he watched May and Fitz rush forward, only to freeze when their touches sent the teen into further panic, pushing herself off the bed with enough force to tear out her IVs, more blood pooling around her.

"NO, please….no I'm sorry, don't…I….please…" Olivia's voice cracked, her eyes now wide open, staring at the group with distress while pushing her back up against the bedframe. "I didn't mean to…please don't…" She was shaking again, emerald eyes constantly going between each person standing near or over her.

Phil looked over at the small group, seeing Daisy and Bobbi watching the girl with pity, Mack with concern, and Fitz with anger-not at the girl but for her. May's face was stoic and blank, but he knew she was just as upset at the teen's state; she had personally pulled the girl's remaining relative, her uncle, from the remains of his house and into the quinjet, fingers digging into his massive arms enough to leave bruises. The whale of a man was currently housed in one of the interrogation rooms, yelling about how ' _decent folks like himself don't deserve this kind of treatment, only_ _freaks_ '. The last bit had put Daisy on edge, her dark eyes hardening with anger and instant distrust of the man.

"Olivia, it's alright. You're not in trouble, but you are bleeding too much for comfort. Come on love, let's get you up." Jemma kneeled down, hands extended with palms up, leaving the entire decision up to the trembling teen.

"My fault….my fault…my fault…" The teen's soft accented voice repeated this mantra, hugging her knees to her chest, the air around her quickly charging with static energy, setting everyone on edge & causing the machines to start sparking.

"Everyone get back." Daisy said, moving forward to pull Jemma back to where Fitz was standing before moving back to the girl. "Olivia, listen to me, you're _okay_ and you're _safe._ Nothing, and I repeat, **nothing** is going to hurt you. Nothing is your fault, alright?" She moved to sit near Olivia's knees despite May's protests, holding her hands low to the ground, near the teen's feet. "We only want to help you and we can't do that with you bleeding all over the floor. Will you let us fix you up again?" The whole time, Daisy kept her voice even and calm, not moving a muscle.

Olivia slowly stopped trembling, carefully pulling her head up to look Daisy in the eyes, red rimmed orbs watching her carefully, looking for any and all lies. Phil could see her calming down, her mind catching up with her anxiety; she had been at the base a week and they had talked a little in that time, okay he talked she listened, so she knew where she was and that she was safe-that is when she wasn't in the middle of a panic attack. When her knees relaxed down and away from her chest, he knew the worst was over, motioning to everyone but Jemma and Daisy to leave the medical ward.

"I'm sorry I ruined your work Dr. Simmons." Olivia's soft voice drew his gaze, seeing her tensely slid her hand into Daisy's before the pair moved her into a kneeling position, letting Jemma look at the open wounds on her back sides.

"It's Jemma love and it's quite alright, I know you were scared. Luckily, you didn't pull them all out. Once we get you back onto the bed, I'll fix you up." Simmons gave the teen a soft smile before nodding to Daisy, quickly but as painlessly as possible moving the girl back onto the bed before quickly resealing the wounds. "There, all set. I'll get you some pain killers then you _will_ get some rest. I'm going to monitor your labs closely, considering you lost a fair amount of blood, but you should be alright in a few days."

Phil knew one thing: Olivia appreciated Jemma actually explaining things to her instead of just expecting her to be complacent and go along with everything. He could see it in the teen's eyes as his scientist went over her plans and it made him appreciate the older Brit further.

"Sir, a word." Daisy whispered, moving to his side with a tablet in her hands. "It's about Olivia's blood work. Something came up." She passed the electronic over, several pages of blood work appearing.

"What am I looking at?" He asked, moving into the hallway, Daisy following after him, the door clicking closed behind her. He looked over the documents with mild confusion.

"Jemma ran Olivia's blood through a whole series of tests, wanting to make sure she caught everything. Don't know why she ran a DNA test, but it came up with a match…to an Avenger."

Phil almost dropped the tablet when his head shot up. "Who?"

Looking through the glass at Olivia, Daisy didn't respond, moving back into the room to assist Jemma with bandaging the teen, gaining a grateful smile from the elder Brit and a cautious glance from the younger. He knew the teen had gained huge support from everyone in the base, despite her barely talking to anyone outside of himself, Daisy, & Jemma; almost everyone knew what he knew, which was the basics of her name, her brief edited history with her uncle and her home life. Phil knew there was more if the way both Olivia and her uncle acted was any indication and he intended to get the truth out of them both; although the man would fine the way the questions directed at him very different from the questioning Olivia would get.

Looking back down at the screen, Phil's eyes widened when he reached the results page. "Well, this should be interesting. Need to make a call or two."

How do you tell the world's best marksman he had a secret daughter that was the victim of both severe abuse and the battle he had been in very recently? Without allowing the archer to violate several laws set by the Geneva Convention? This is something Director Coulson would have to figure out and quick; knowing how often Stark hacked S.H.E.I.L.D., no doubt the archer would be told soon about his wayward child.

"Time to make an appearance I guess. I wonder who'll punch me first? I'd go with Romanoff." Phil wandered to his office, quietly muttering to himself.

A/N: So...i'm putting off updating RH with this story, because I've hit a wall. It's my first marvel cross over and while I'm not an expert on all things marvel, I do adore it and HP. I just hope this is received well; it took me two weeks of writing, stopping, staring at the screen, consulting, avoiding it, writing a huge chunk while on a caffeine high then rewriting it once I got sleep, then finally sat down and wrote the last 1000 words in a single sitting. Reviews and comments are appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

Olivia's eyes kept flickering to the bruising around his left eye while he went over the information he'd recovered for both her and himself, concern taking over her face. "Does it hurt?" Her soft accent voice whispered, causing him to pause, drawing a small smile to his lips.

"Only a little, Natasha has a mean right hook. Barton helped by kicking my legs out from under me…I guess I should have expected it." Coulson trails off when her eyes snap back to his from the small leather journal in her lap.

"Wha-what's he like?" She asked, her voice never wavering, but still soft and low as if she was frightened that she would set anybody off if she spoke too loudly.

She'd been at the base for about three weeks & was almost healed up from all her physical injuries, and while none of them had gotten every little thing from her concerning her relatives, the information she did give up surprised Coulson: a whole hidden world filled with super powered beings, although she insisted that they were not mutants after that was explained to her, called 'witches & wizards'. What irked him was the knowledge that she had been thrust into a position of a soldier when she was only eleven, only recently ending a blood filled war by murdering the man who stole her parents. Olivia had given up select memories of the war and downright refused to share others, shutting down on multiple occasions when prompted by either May or himself.

That she was asking after her biological father, something she had taken easier then Coulson had expected, was encouraging.

"Barton? He's sarcastic, stubborn, a pain-in-the-ass at times, loyal, smart-far smarter then he lets anyone know, driven, and excellent at what he does…he's protective and cares deeply for the ones he deems worthy. Honestly kid, I see traits of him in you when you let go for those brief moments…"He trails off, watching her reactions, surprised by the ghost of a smile that stretches her lips.

"He sounds nice." Still her voice was soft, knees drawn tight now to her chest.

Coulson remains silent for a moment before reaching out, pausing as she pulled back with a massive flinch, pushing herself back a little. He didn't move back, instead rested his hand near her leg. "Olivia, you're good, I was just going for that journal you mentioned. May said you'd gotten the unusual delivery this morning, meaning your letter to that bank was received. Wanted to see what you mentioned before…about your mother."

The teen was still backed up, but she was breathing easier-Jemma & Daisy had taught her how to control her anxiety attacks after one too many late night freak-outs that resulted in ripped out IVs- and was reaching for said journal, flipping pages open, slowly looking up at him, hesitant to show another part of her past.

"I got this when I turned seventeen-that's the coming of age in the wizarding world- along with a long letter from…from her." She found the correct pages, a folded and worn letter pressed in between them, before shakily holding them out to him.

Coulson smiled softly, taking the objects before sitting back. "So there's a reason why Barton didn't know about you?" She nodded but didn't elaborate, her eyes flickering away from him towards the wall and staying there. He starts reading both objects, eyebrows slowly raising the further down he went, muttering the words he read every now and then.

" _Met this guy while starting my new muggle job over the summer…He's different from James in that he actually listens…I guess taking James' proposal might have been a bit hasty but with the war, life is too fleet. But to tell me he is now unable have kids? I don't understand…The guy's name, he says it's Clint, very American…I can't believe it, but James's idea worked, I'm pregnant. I feel like I've ruined Clint, he didn't want to do this because we want the child to only know James…I've never cried harder than when I had to wipe Clint's memory_ …" Here Coulson stopped, looking sharply up at Olivia, who had tears racing down her face. "That's a possible thing?" She nodded, still not looking at him. "And it just happens all the time?"

This time when she nodded, she looked at him. "There's a whole section of the ministry called the Aurors…kind of like you I guess, made to 'protect' the wizarding world. If muggles see magic or find out about it, they go and obliviate them…" She pauses, suddenly looking alarmed. "If they find out about me telling you guys…they might…damn it…I'm sorry I'm sorry…"

Despite the flinch it caused, Coulson gripped her hand in his, rubbing soft circles on her skin. "Sweetheart, breath, you're okay. Don't worry about them, focus on yourself, on us; we're not going to let anyone hurt you, you're safe."

Color him surprised when her fingers gripped his back while her breathing slowed, nodding her head a little. When he deemed her calm enough, he turned back to the letter/journal, letting Olivia compose herself.

"So, your mother felt guilt over this but not enough to contact Barton?" A shrug was the reply he received. "Worried he would fight for custody of you or worried that everyone would find out about James' secret?"

She let out a harsh laugh, anger suddenly filling her eyes. "A little of both, but mostly it was due to a meddling old fool who didn't want his damn plans ruined." The heart monitor picked up while the air around her started to get heavy. "He didn't want his precious weapon taken away because then his lies would be shoved into the spotlight…I could have…he prevented me from being happy…the bastard lied to so many concerning me…that damn Prophecy Ruined My Life!" The glass of water on her bedside table shattered, pulling her quickly from her state.

Coulson jumped up, cleaning it up before moving back to her, his heart clenching at the betrayed and sorrow filled look Olivia now bore. He tried to think of the words to say but was stopped when the door clicked opened, May making her way in before stopping near him.

"Sir, you're needed in the conference room, secure communication coming in and the caller only wants to speak with you."

He was conflicted, eyes locked on you before he signed and looked at May. "Stay with her?" When she nodded, he reached over to squeeze the teen's shoulders, his lips pursig when she flinched again, before walking out of the room.

May sat on the edge of the bed, watching her agitated form. She could see the guilt racking the young girl, drawing a concerned sigh from the Asian woman; despite the short time frame she had been here, with everything that had happened, May had quickly grown protective of the teen, having great fun when 'talking' the whale of a man that called himself her uncle. She picked up the journal that Coulson had left, eyeing it critically before looking up at Olivia.

"Whatever just happened isn't negative. You were upset and no matter what you might think, it's human to have reactions to your bad memories; just because your abilities enhance your emotions doesn't make them an undesirable thing. I don't care what your uncle ever said; you're nothing if not important."

Olivia was still, eyes locked onto May; she'd often spoken with the teen after her late night nightmares, gaining the girl's trust slowly while quickly growing insanely protective of the teen. She didn't let Olivia's powers or past change how she would wrap an arm around her shoulders, helping her calm down, singing sometimes in a language the teen soon learned was Chinese, fingers carding through the teen's hair until she went back to sleep; she was one of three people Olivia would let touch her, the others being Jemma and Coulson-progress from the first three days where no one could even come near her.

This was why Olivia wasn't afraid to now open up to the woman, drawing a deep breath before responding, her voice soft and shaky, afraid of any reactions that she might receive.

"I don't feel important, I feel like I was a weapon who did her job and then dared to try and think for herself. And after the war, I wanted to be alone: I lost so many people and needed time. But the Ministry and…the _people_ who I thought were my friends decided that I wasn't ready to be out in the world, that I needed 'more time to adjust to non-war life.' Why they thought my aunt and uncle's was the right spot, I'll never know." She paused, her form trembling. "I wanted to die…after everything he did…"

May looked at her before she reached out and pushed a stray hair behind Olivia's ear. "But you didn't and now you get to move on, you get a second chance at living; something not many people get after war terrorizes their lives. Don't shut everything out, just give yourself a chance."

The teen was thoughtful before giving May a shaky nod, moving to lay on her side away from the woman, knees brought tight to her chest. Seeing the dismissal, May stood and left the room quietly, the lights dimming as Olivia's mind ran a mile a minute for hours before she finally escaped into the depths of slumber.

* * *

Whispered voices near her drew the teen awake, Jemma and Daisy soon coming into view, both looking over a tablet with interest; that is until Jemma sees her awake.

"Ah, you're awake, good. How are you feeling today? You're blood tests are spectacular, you're having great improvement with your anemia, your vitamin levels, you white count level-look here- has come back up." Jemma moves to the bed, where the teen was now sitting up, one knee drawn to her chest, allowing Daisy to sit. Olivia watched the older brit's actions with wonder, asking quiet questions until the doors slid open, Coulson walked in with a torn expression.

"Sir?" Daisy's asked, standing.

Coulson only paused, looking at Olivia with a now pained expression. "Sorry, guess they got impatient." He stepped to the side, revealing three figures: a woman with deep red hair, an Asian woman in a long white coat and finally a man who Olivia knew from the lone picture Lily had left in the journal and the images Coulson had shown her: he had short spikey brown hair and deep blue eyes that were locked on the teen, a myriad of emotions playing through them.

She felt the air catch in her lungs watching the man, a face to the story her mother had written and her blood confirmed. He was really _real,_ there was no denying it now; not that she really could but what orphan wants to believe the worst in the parents that died for them? Olivia was pulled back into the conversation happening around herself and…and Barton when she heard her name mentioned from Jemma.

"She's doing really well, her numbers are up, but she's still got some sprained ribs, a broken ankle, her wound on the back is giving issues but is 85% healed." She was speaking to the Asian woman with what Olivia called her 'I'm a very important Doctor' tone, sharing the information via tablets, Daisy adding in what she knew every other moment.

"Olivia?"

Her head snapped back towards Coulson, who was standing near her, tilting her head in response, pulling a small smile to his lips.

"So, formally, I'd like you to meet a couple people: this is Agent Natasha Romanoff and A-"

"Name's Clint, don't call me agent." The man was suddenly next to Olivia, who screamed before falling off the bed, her panic attack hitting her in full force while crying out in pain, Daisy at her side trying to stem the worst of the mental pain, Jemma and the other woman working to prevent the IVs from ripping out again.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry…." The teen was rocking back and forth, Daisy's hands gripping hers, whispering comforting and soothing words into Olivia's hair.

Barton had frozen in place, his childlike joy at meeting his previously unknown daughter quickly replaced with horror and anger; someone had hurt his child, badly judging by the reactions he just witnessed. He turned a hard, questioning glare to Coulson, seeing Natasha giving one as well, the man sighing before gesturing to the far corner.

"Explain Coulson." Barton's voice was tight, his fingers clenched in white knuckle fists.

"So, here's the thing…"

A/N: I'm just going to sit here and marvel at the fact that I almost never do kind things for my stories…I'm such an angsty Soybean.


	3. Chapter 3

She sat up quickly, her chest tight but the screams held in as the nightmare starts to fade, her breathing harsh and painful in her throat. Drawing her knees tight to her chest, Olivia tries to bring herself back from the impending panic attack but fails, loud sobs soon escaping her, alerting the AI system of her predicament.

' _Miss Olivia, shall I request Mr. Barton come to your aid?_ '

"N-no! N-no Jarvis, please, no…" She trailed off, not wanting to bother anyone, didn't want to cause a stir at what the bedside clock told her was three AM, knowing that the team had only recently returned from a mission; plus she still couldn't quite stand any one of them, even her…her father being near after a bad nightmare or episode, despite knowing in the back of her mind that he wasn't planning on hurting her in any way.

It's been about three months since he and Natasha had shown up at Coulson's base with Dr. Helen Cho, who had taken over her recovery from Jemma once she moved to Avenger's Tower in New York City- that decision took three days of convincing that it would be the best for her from Coulson, May, Daisy, Jemma, and surprisingly Fitz, who while not being that close to Olivia still felt protective of her. Before she left the base, he had handed her a few electronics he'd designed to withstand her magic: a phone similar to the teams with preprogrammed numbers into it-a fact Daisy took advantage of to text Olivia with every day- should she feel the need to contact any of them, an item he called an iPod filled with music the small group picked out in hopes to expand her small knowledge of the musical catalog out there, and a tablet that, while made for her, still freaked her out because of how much it could do: she went from a tech phobic household with the Dursleys then to a wizarding world that failed to even attempt to keep up with developments in the muggle world, so to be handed an object that could instantly bring up thousands of books with a swipe, access the internet and locate any piece of information she wanted, games that she'd seen Mack and Bobbi play for hours, & have a feature that let her talk with anyone on the team with a small button push made her worried she'd mess any and everything up.

Her phone and said tablet rested on the bedside table, next to the clock, and despite the nagging voice telling her not to bother anyone, the overriding voices from the team telling her to call should she ever need them beat it, causing her to reach out for the objects while Olivia swung her legs over the side of the bed. But the tremors were strong enough to drop the tablet, the edge of it landing harshly on her foot, pain blooming instantly causing a loud cry to leave her.

"Bloody Hell!" Biting her lip, she brought her foot close to her, seeing the bruise forming already.

She barely heard the door sliding open, soft footfalls alerting her to the approaching figure, blue eyes looking up into hers with concern. The AI had ignored her request obviously because here was Clint crouching down beneath her. She glared at the ceiling before returning her gaze to her foot, but didn't fail to see the small smile on Clint's lips.

"He has orders to follow from us too, sweetie. You know we don't want you going through anything by yourself anymore." He whispers all this while not moving himself from the crouch, eyes still locked onto her.

She doesn't respond for a moment, fingers softly going over the bruise before she whispered "Didn't want to bother you."

His smile was still there as he tilted his head in a response-Coulson was right; she did share a lot of traits with the marksman- before he finally sat cross legged on the cool floor, picking up the forgotten and betraying tablet. "Why would you think you'd be a bother Liv? I told you we're all here for you."

Shrugging, she let her eyes flicker up to his. "You just got back." When she didn't continue, Clint scoffed, resting the tablet back besides her phone before returning his attention on her only to find she'd moved her other foot back to the bed, the still casted appendage drawn tight to her thigh.

"Believe me Liv, I've suffered worse than my kid needing me after a missi-" He pauses when he sees her recoil a bit, her eyes suddenly everywhere but on him. "Ok, let's talk about something else: what did you dream about? Was it the war?" No response. "Voldeypants?" Still no answer. "Surrey?" There, a reaction: she flinched, fingers gripping her sheets. "Alright, it's okay kid. You know the whale can't hurt you anymore, he's locked up in Wakefield, all the way across the ocean." Clint reached out slowly, her green eyes locked on the incoming digits. "He's not getting out after everything was revealed at his trials, Livvie, don't worry." He laid his hand on her uncasted foot, gently probing the light bruise, making a mental note to ice it before she went back to sleep.

Olivia pulled a face but kept her foot in place, trying to relax under Clint's gentle parenting; she was honestly trying to give everyone, including him, a chance in her new life and slowly, like the team back at Coulson's base, she was learning to trust them. "No-not everything." She sees his fingers pause but he doesn't move them from her foot, only his eyes looking at her with a million questions in the blue depths. She hesitated, the words freezing on her tongue: does she tell him what she withheld and what she knew Vernon would never admit? Does she spill her deepest secret to a man who, while proving himself trustworthy around her, she's only known for a couple months? Can she show that pain to him?

The warmth from his fingers on her bruised foot drew her eyes and gave her the answer she needed, drawing a shaky breath before looking him dead on, trembling. "He…he liked to give me a meter long list of things to do in about a six hour time frame that always resulted in me failing. He'd punish me by starving me, beating me…he let Dudley hurt me too, my aunt tuned it all out. He starved me for weeks, barely giving me any water so he wouldn't have to explain my c-corpse…" Her hands trembled harshly until Clint's carefully enveloped them in his own, rubbing small circles on them, letting her catch her bearings. "It seemed to stop when I went to Hogwarts, only starving or the occasional shove into walls or down steps, but after Sirius died…after….after _they told him_ my one trump card died, it started again…no believed me, no one tried to stop it." Olivia's sobs caught in her throat, but Clint didn't move, afraid to scare her further, only tightening his grip on her hands, keeping his anger filled eyes on the floor. "Then after the war, when they all decided _I needed more time to recover_ , they threw me back to them…left me alone with a murder on my hands…so many people dead…" The air was heavy around her, thick with emotion and her magic, Clint taking note of the shaking picture frames and static electricity building around them both. "Vernon just shoved me into my old _room_ and…I couldn't stop the dreams, the memories…the first night he threw me down into the cellar after my screams woke up the whole house…kept me there for days, nursing a dislocated shoulder…until he…until…"

Clint's eyes snap back to her when she starts sobbing, curling into herself, bringing her hands- and thus his- tight against her. "Shhh, sweetie it's alright, you don't have to continue. I'm right here, you're okay." His thumbs rubbed circles on her hands, Daisy and Jemma's voices echoing in his head, ' _Keep her focused on external stimulus, it will help draw her out of the memories_.' He kept murmuring nonsensical words to her, kept contact as she fell to her side, the sobs softening until her breathing evened out. She fell into a semi-peaceful slumber but Clint could hear the tears on the edge of her every breath and refused to move from his position: his hands still held tight around hers while he sat on the edge of the bed at an angle that created the least amount of strain.

He'd stay at this position until the world ceased to exist if it meant his kid felt safe enough to sleep near him, felt he wouldn't hurt her like others had done in the past; his eyes darkened with rage at the words she had spoken and left hanging. He and Natasha suspected there was an evil in the whale of man, suspected his abuse was far more despicable then the man would admit, & while they didn't want to even fathom it, both suspected Vernon had _violated_ his niece in ways that would leave him due a very overdue visit from Hawkeye and Black Widow.

But for now, the marksman watched his war torn daughter's eyelids flutter as she tried to sleep despite the terror that was undoubtedly swarming her mind. If anyone walked pass the room and heard his soft voice humming through the door, they were smart enough not to bring it up.

* * *

Laughter trickled down the hallway as Olivia slowly made her way towards the common area, the wall supporting her as she walked to keep weight off her casted ankle, the joint still far too sensitive for any major weight bearing. She had woken up surprisingly rested after spilling her guts out to Clint the night before, his warmth still on her sheets and Jarvis informing her he had left only few minutes before she had woken up.

She supposed she could have requested breakfast in her room again, but she had this voice in the back of her head, which sounded _a lot_ like Jemma, telling her to reach out beyond the spacious room Tony Stark had given her to do with as she pleased when she arrived. She  hadn't done anything with the area as of yet, partly because she'd never had so much to work with before and the other reason being that she was afraid it would be taken away in a heartbeat, despite the billionaire's insistence that it was _her_ room now, for however long _she_ wanted it, not anyone else. She could have easily had a small eating area in the huge...flat…yeah, that seems to be the correct term for her room, as it easily could house a single person outside of the tower.

But, she decided to follow the little voice's advice and thus found herself leaning against the doorway into the common area, a little out of breath and her both feet pulsing softly with pain, watching the group eat breakfast: she could see Dr. Banner in the kitchen with a steaming cup in his hands talking with Tony, who was flipping what looked and smelled like pancakes, Natasha was talking with a another woman with long red/brown hair and a man with dirty blond hair, and there was Clint sitting at the breakfast bar, already downing a stack of pancakes but pausing when he notices her in the doorway.

"Hey sweetie, are you hungry? Come here, you can share mine." He pats the empty chair next to him at first, but jumps up when her face shows the pain she's in when she walks, moving to gently wrap his hand around her elbow, guiding her. "Glad you joined us Liv." This was whispered, drawing her eyes to his.

"I-I want to try at least…" She whispered back, sliding onto the barstool, surprised when a cup of what looked like tea was put in front of her.

"Figured Earl Gray was the way to go for right now, sugar and cream are next to you Sparkles." Tony grinned and winked at her before moving back to the stove to make more pancakes, muttering about ' _endless stomachs of gods_.'

Olivia was relaxed in her chair, fingers wrapped around the cup, letting the conversations around her filter through her mind, responding silently when Dr. Banner-sorry, he prefers Bruce- asked after her health. Clint's forearm was pressed against her own, his warmth seeping into her; she forced her body to not react negatively, willed her mind to remember that this man would never hurt her; he would in fact hurt those who would/have hurt her.

The accented voices of the two talking to Natasha stopped suddenly when the woman gasped, jumping up from her seat before she rushed to the counter, close to Olivia, her eyes wide and lit with red energy that closely resembled Riddle's without the malice. Quicker than the teen could respond, the woman's warm fingers gripped her free hand tightly, ignoring the panicked look that fills Olivia's face.

"You've been through so much, seen too much, how do you eve-" She was cut off when several people jumped up.

"Wanda!"

"Don't touch her!"

"Wait, please, how do you…how can you…." Her voice cracked, but she didn't pull her hand away from the woman, emerald eyes filled with questions. "Are…are you a witch?"

The woman-Wanda- gave her a small. "Yes, but not like you." She pauses, giving Olivia a sad, pity filled look that caused the teen to pull her hand from hers instantly. "You poor girl."

Standing quickly, Olivia limped out of the room with Clint hot on her heels, the others glaring at Wanda. Olivia stopped halfway down the hallway, leaning against the wall, Clint kneeling down in front of her.

"Liv, what's wrong?"

She draws a shaky breath. "I don't like pity and I don't like people in my head. Dumbledore and Riddle did that enough, I don't need another one."

"Okay kiddo, don't worry about it anymore. I'll make sure Wanda keeps out of your mind, I know she can't control it 24/7, so maybe keep that in mind. You still hungry?" She gives a negative head shake. "How about we go to the lounge and watch some movies or TV?" A hesitant nod leads to Clint pulling her down the hall, arm pulled across her shoulders.

Olivia lets him rattle off a list of names of things he thinks she'll like, her mind going back to the kitchen and the lingering feeling of another's magic on her mind; something she wouldn't ever get used to, no matter who the invader was. She doubted Wanda meant harm by the actions, but Olivia still felt a little violated; hence her willingness to let Clint wrap a throw blanket around her, going on about a trilogy of movies called 'Star Wars' that she'll like a lot before curling his arm around her shoulders again, asking Jarvis to start the movies.

"You'll be drawn in Liv: it's got space battles, a bad ass princess, light saber duels, one of the coolest ships ever. What I'm saying is that soon you'll be as hooked as me." Clint goes quiet when music starts playing from the speakers and the opening credits begin scrolling up the screen.

Olivia lets herself be taken in by the music and the warmth from Clint's arm, soon finding herself dozing, head tucked into the soft pillow behind her.

A/N: Ok, so we've made it to NYC. Here's hoping… _nothing_ special happens to throw a wrench into things….


	4. Chapter 4

"No No, don't clench the whole fist when you swing, use the heel of your palm. You'd be asking for trouble and pain if you throw a swing like they do in movies love." Natasha guided Olivia's arms back into position, pleased when the younger female gave only a mild flinch. "When you hit with the heel, you allow more pressure to be exerted onto your opponents. You can stop attackers three times your size with the correct hit." The assassin stops when Olivia drops her stance, moving away from the ring. "What's wrong, I didn't stay stop."

Soft green eyes watched as emerald closed with a little panic. "M'sorry, I just…never mind, I need to stop." Olivia kneeled down until she can wrap her arms tight around her calves. "This was a mistake…I can't do this Tash."

The older redhead moved close, sitting down in front of Olivia. She could see the tremors racking the young Brit but couldn't figure out what was causing them; it wasn't the first time she had been in the training room with the brunette in hopes to strengthen her reflexes and skills that had fallen out of use after the wizarding war had concluded-it had been Olivia's request when Bruce suggested physical therapy to help her gain full movement back in her injured ankle. But something had happened; something had trigged Olivia's fear within the last few minutes-not something that surprised the assassin because emotional trauma isn't going to resolve itself in five months- and Natasha, in her honorary aunt role, was determined to figure out what happened.

"Liv, you know we can't help if you don't talk or tell us anything." She reached out, smoothing the wisps of hair that fell out of the bun Olivia had atop her head. "Remember how distraught Clint got when you didn't tell him we missed your birthday? He went into a full on tizzy." She hoped this would gain a positive reaction from the Brit but it only resulted in a forced smile that dropped quickly. "Dorogoy, breath, you're in a safe place."

"I know I know, I just…I'm _trying_ to get over this…all  this-" Olivia gestures to herself, anger lacing her words "and I want these panic issues to stop! I just…I thought I would be able to forgive myself for letting them do this to me, for _allowing_ them to render me weak and unarmed…but I can't. I  let them take my wand, let them get into my head: I was a shell, a walking, talking human void with no idea what to do after ending Riddle's plans. If I had fought back, if I had…I'm pathetic Tash…" She let her forehead fall onto her knees, frustrated noises slipping from her lips.

Gentle fingers ran along Olivia's hair while Natasha moved to sit at her side. "You were grieving and you were in pain milaya devushka. No one can blame you for being out of it: you literally killed for peace, you were used since you were a child to fight battles for adults who never considered the impact it would have on you."

Olivia slowly moves her head until she was looking up at the older woman with wet eyes. "If I had had the right sense about me at the time… _he_ wouldn't have…I would have  never step foot in Surrey again. He took advantage of my disorientation and grief in a way I said would never happen again. I _won't_ be that weak again."

Natasha's lips twitched upwards, pressing a kiss to Olivia's forehead. "No you won't my dragotsennyy, I'll see to it."

The small chuckle that left the Brit seemed to fill the entire gym. "You know, I still don't understand Russian Tash; I was crap for learning anything outside of the Latin from all the spell work or Parsaltongue."

Natasha smirked and stood slowly, bringing the other with her. "You'll learn love, trust me. Now, shall we resume your lesson?" This pulled another chuckle from the Brit, who moved back into the ring, giving the redhead a smile.

"Quod si me satis."

"Don't tell Tony you know Latin too, he'll go crazy if another woman can speak something he can't comprehend."

Olivia snickers, moving her stance back to the starting point. "I'm sure Uncle Tony would get over it…or learn it just out of spite."

"Da, eto ochen' verno."

Rolling her eyes, Olivia starts the routine again, quickly focusing on the training dummy as she let the painful memories take its place so she could use it as a venting tool, a tip from both Natasha and her father, time quickly slipping from them both until there was clapping from the doorway after Olivia successfully knocked the heavy training dummy over ten times, small indents in its chest. Looking up, both females turned towards the entrance, the younger panting and sheen covered.

"You've come a long way Liv, you're pretty amazing." Steve's assessment brought a small seed a pride in Olivia, her chest puffing out just a little.

 _Captain America_ just complimented her hitting techniques; she had to be doing something right. But both female's eyes were drawn to the male next to Steve, his blue eyes watching Olivia with calculation and what Olivia thinks is concern. Steve starts moving forward, the dark haired male following, eyes darting around in a manner that struck Olivia as how she still acted, even after being in the tower for several months; you can take a soldier off the battlefield, but you'll be hard pressed to take their survival instincts away from them. That's when the conversation Steve had with her and the rest of the residents of the tower of a new arrival: _another_ super serum soldier that was out of his time, one Bucky Barnes.

"You'd do well to compliment me and Barton as well Rogers, we've a hand in all the progress that Livvy's had in the past few weeks."

Natasha's playful tone brought Olivia from her thoughts, finding Barnes' eyes locked onto her, analyzing her very being; she knew that look: he was trying to determine her threat level to his own personal self and Steve if she guessed his posturing properly. Steve chuckled and bumped the female assassin's shoulder, glancing back at Olivia briefly.

"Of course Nat, I wouldn't dream of denying you your daily ego boost. Anyway, Liv, I wanted to introduce you to Bucky, properly I should say; stories can only do so much for either of you."

This caused Olivia to freeze, the small smile she had been sporting dropping quickly. "You…you told him about me?"

Steve nodded. "I told him about the whole team and yourself. Wanted to give him a chance to have a grasp on the occupants of the tower, right Buck?"

He didn't receive a reply, looking over to see said man had moved closer to Olivia, head tilted as he analyzed her. No one expected him to question anyone, especially the youngest member of the tower. "How long were you in battle?"

Silence filled the space around them, but before Steve or Natasha could stop Bucky's further questions, Olivia replied.

"From the age of eleven up until about 6 months ago, when I personally ended the damn war."

"You've taken lives?"

She nodded stiffly, tears welling up behind her eyes. "More than I could ever count or want to remember."

He moved forward again, leaning down slightly and tilting his head to look at her face. "Who hurt you?"

Her head snapped up, finding his form closer than she had thought, her eyes wide. "I…I…what do you…"

His lips pressed into a thin line. "Who. Hurt. You? How long were you abused?" Now his eyes narrowed, focused on the pink and white scars that littered her face, shoulders, and arms.

Olivia backed up a couple steps, panic setting in quickly before she turned and bolted out of the gym, not concerned that she was only in her training clothes with no shoes or that she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, her only concern was getting away from the situation she wasn't prepared for.

She wasn't sure where her feet led her to until a door opened and familiar carpet appeared in her vision; he was always her go to safe place now, not that he complained in anyway and told her that his door would always be open, no matter what.

Which is how she found herself curled up on his bed, hidden under the warm fleece, Clint's hands running soothing patterns on her back while she rode her panic attack out, the small incident being spilled to her father before her energy flat lined as soon as she finished, curling up more before her eyes sliding closed easily, his soft murmurs above her easing her into slumber.

* * *

Olivia was never more grateful that the community kitchen was set away from the bedrooms, allowing her to occupy the room in the early morning hours when she needs to; it was her fall back when her anxiety kept her up after her nightmares tore her from her slumber. Some nights she cooked, others she simply made tea and curled up on whatever surface she wanted-Natasha found her curled into the fridge one morning, clutching a cold mug to her chest-, or she allowed the panic attacks to run their course while tucked into the nearest corner.

After waking up sprawled across her father's bed, she was able to sneak out of the room without waking said man up before making her way to her current position: in the middle of the floor, pan in hand, wondering if she could quietly make the pancakes she was currently craving.

It was a new thing for her: being able to just cook for herself without expectations from others-although Tony liked to beg for her shepherd's pie. Olivia was used to being starved for anything beyond a few scraps of bread and water while making enough breakfast to feed the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team twice over for just two people; so to have free reign to eat whatever whenever she pleased still shocked her.

But it didn't stop her as she heated up the pain before mixing the ingredients together, raiding Bruce's stash of dehydrated cherries with a silent promise to make it up to the doctor. As she moved in an almost trance like state on auto pilot while stirring, she started humming one of the many tunes she had heard Seamus belting out more than once after he had hit puberty and discovered the attractive members of the population of Hogwarts before the words began to fall from her lips, swaying in place in front of the stove, her small pile of pancakes growing quickly.

" _Red is the rose that yonder garden grows_ _._ _Fair is the lily of the valley. Clear is the water that flows from the Boyne_ _._ _But my love is fairer than any_."

Her voice bounced off the soft walls, filling the area as she finished her task, letting the pan to cool on the stove while she moved about, finding the syrup and powdered sugar easily.

" _It's not for the parting that my sister pains_ _._ _It's not for the grief of my mother_ _._ _It's all for the loss of my Bonnie Irish lass_ _._ _That my heart is breaking forever. Red is the rose that yonder garden grows_ _._ _Fair is the lily of the valley. Clear is the water that flows from the Boyne_ _._ _But my love is fairer than any_."

She heard the soft foot falls before their owner appeared, bringing the dark haired super soldier into view, his eyes watching her with a myriad of emotions; only this time she didn't see the calculation of his-or the pity she was used to from other; no, she saw understanding and concern within Bucky's blue orbs.

"I…I didn't wake you did I?" She whispered, the food forgotten for the moment.

Bucky shakes his head, running a hand through his hair before leaning against the door frame.

"No, I was…I was up already and I heard noises."

Now it was her turn to be concerned. "Already up? Are you alright, cause it's a little late for you to be up."

His lips twitched up in a soft smile. "Little hypocritical don't you think little bird?" Moving into the kitchen, he opens and browses the fridge before pulling out a bottle of juice.

Olivia pauses, processing his words briefly before smiling. "That's a new name; tony would fight you on my nickname. But you're deflecting…and yes, I know I'm up late too; doesn't change my question."

"Nightmares." Was the murmured response after a few moments of silence, her small smile dropping while moving to her food.

"You too? Wait…that's an idiotic question; if anyone is going to have nightmares, it's you." Sliding to the floor with her food, she silently picks at it.

Bucky watched her before joining her on the cool tiled floor, the juice held tightly in his grasp. "I need to apologize…for earlier. I…I'm still getting used to interacting with people…aside from Steve. But when I saw you, there was this instant reaction that I wanted to...I don't know… _protect_ you because I instantly recognized the marks on your skin."

Her head had popped up during his response but it ducked again, a small tint of pink spreading across her cheeks. She heard him sigh, looking up again to see him watching her with a sad look-she wouldn't say it was pity- that broke her heart.

"Steve told me a little of what happened to you…after you left the gym. Not everything…but enough to make me wish we lived a little closer to the UK. You're too young…I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" His voice trailed off as did his gaze, his blue orbs falling to stare at the floor.

Olivia sat silent for the longest time before she summoned a little courage to slide across the floor until she sat next to him, his metal arm pressed into hers, sending a small chill through her. Bucky looked up at her with questioning eyes, but she simply held up her plate, offering him some of the pancakes. When he finally took the fork and a small bite, she replied.

"You don't have to apologize for _him_. You…you had no control over anything that happened:  yes I was far too young but it's done with. I'm healing and I'm moving on from that world; I'm not letting their actions affect me as much anymore- can't let them affect me anymore if I want to have a life here. I finally have an actual family that _truly_ want me and care for me-that's a lot better than what I used to have. But…I appreciate your trying…I'm not used to the calm here…I keep expecting  something to happen or pop up. I was on the run for over a year from a ministry overrun with my enemy's allies, was captured more times than I can count, tortured, watched people and beings I loved die in front of me…" Her eyes were locked onto the wall, but she could feel his eyes on her. "Did Steve tell you I was a murderer before I was even two-years-old?"

Her misty eyes moved to his, her head tilted as she awaited his response. Olivia was surprised when he set the plate down on the floor and pulled her into a tight embrace, her face tucked into his shoulder. "You are not a murderer, nor were you as a toddler. You _fought_ for your life with every step Olivia, that is self-defense: never let anyone tell you different."

Surprising herself, her arms wrapped tight around his torso, sobs leaving her before she can stop herself, Bucky not saying a word, just rubbing circles on her back. She curled up on his lap, trying to stop the tears streaming down her cheeks but it was like a dam and it refused to be bottled up again. After her pulse slows down enough that she stops hearing her own heartbeat, she moves back to look at him, her emerald eyes red and puffy.

"Th-thank you…I'm sorry I didn't mean t-"

"Malen'kaya ptitsa, it's alright." He hasn't ceased the small movements of his hand, a soft smile gracing his face. "I understand bottling everything up, Steve gets on me about it all the time. Do you know where his room is?" When she nods, he continues. "I'm right across the hall from him, if you ever need to talk, don't hesitate to knock; I can guarantee I'll probably be awake."

She watches him silently before she returns to resting against his shoulder, the tears slowing. "Steve offered that too…but he's very…I don't know, he's _Captain America_ , how do I tell him I had a nightmare like a toddler? I'm not some child but…I still see the people around me…my entire school was involved in the last battle… _children_ died Bucky, good people died. I tried talking to my father but I couldn't, he doesn't understand…Steve knows, he gets it but I've never felt like I could actually talk to him."

Bucky chuckles softly, resting his chin on her head. "That punk isn't that intimidating doll. But I get it, he looks like he wouldn't want to listen: it's quite the opposite I'm tellin' ya."

Nodding softly, she felt herself relax as her anxiety fell away. "I came out here to make pancakes, not to have a breakdown."

She started giggling, drawing soft chuckles from him until she slipped into full on laughter, leaning fully against him. "That sounded so weird, I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry, I've heard worse." He paused, looking over her head at the plate near his knees. "I think you're food is cold now."

Olivia followed his look, snickering before slipping out of his lap. "It's simple to reheat. Do you want me to make you some? I still have some batter in the bowl." She looked down at him with a soft smile.

He went to say no but hesitated as his stomach growled lightly. "Sure, on one condition."

She raised her brow, tilting her head at him, causing him to smirk.

"Sing me something else, malen'kaya ptitsa."

Despite the blush that flared across her cheeks, she laughed and nodded. "Deal, if it get you to eat."

Turning back to the stove, she hears him move from the floor to the breakfast bar while she reheated the pan. "Any song choices?"

"What we're you singing earlier? Sounded better than what I hear playing nowadays."

"Oh, I know a lot of Irish and Scottish folk songs because of my schoolmates. I'm kind of like you and Steve with the modern day music: I didn't hear any of it in Surrey because Dudley hated it and electronics didn't work in the magical world so there wasn't any opportunity to hear muggle music there. Jemma and Daisy gave me an IPod filled with music that I'm honestly scared of because it's so random and has some honestly weird band names…I know a Scottish tune that's easy to sing while I'm cooking, would that be alright?"

"You're going to be singing doll, have at it." He grinned sipping from his recovered juice bottle.

Smiling, she hummed the tune before softly starting the words, contentment settling in a way she hadn't expected when she woke up earlier.

" _By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes, where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond. Where me and my true love will never meet again. On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond_."

Looking over her shoulder, the smile grows brighter when she sees the super soldier/assassin swaying on his stool to the tune, eyes closed with a slight grin on his face.

Maybe this would be a better night than she anticipated.

A/N: Hullo all! This one took a bit, but I'm quite happy with it. AnD to quell any fears/concerns: NO there will not be any romances with Liv right now. She's in no shape for such things. Now, the soybean will take your comments and reviews.

edit 4/22/16: Sorry about not doing this sooner, but i'll put the translations for any non english in the order that they appear:  
\- Dorogoy: Dear  
\- milaya devushka: sweet girl  
-dragotsennyy: precious  
-Quod si me satis: Might As Well  
-Da, eto ochen' verno: Yes, this is true.  
-Malen'kaya ptitsa: little bird


	5. Chapter 5

Her feet carried her silently through the tower, although it was the rare occasion where the whole team had been called in for a mission and she didn't need to be quiet. It was still second nature for her to be light on her feet-something Natasha picked up on and enforced in her therapy/training- and while she was still covered in sweat from her nightmare she didn't try to curb her natural instinct. Mid November seemed like a dream in the temperature controlled tower, leaving her to walk around in one of her father's tee shirts and her work out shorts; the only thing that bothered her was the cool flooring of the steps as she made her way up to the communications room.

Quietly stepping in, she could see Maria Hill at the command, the short brunette woman silently watching multiple screens with various data that ranged from team member's positions to a satellite image of the base the team was raiding for further information on Hydra; Olivia didn't know the exact details of the mission, but she knew it was an 'all hands on deck' one, hence her normal after nightmare support being absent.

"Stark, watch the north tower, I'm seeing some new heat signatures climb the steps." Maria's voice is even as she watches Olivia slip into the chair next to her before placing the Stark Bug in her ear, the team's voices washing over her instantly once she clicks the receiver on.

"-many of these guys are they going to send up? Do they hate their lower level goons that much?"

Tony's sarcastic tone draws a soft giggle from Olivia, alerting them instantly to her presence.

"Sparkles, glad you could make the premier! Tell me, did Maria provide popcorn for you?"

"Liv, you shouldn't be up."

"Aw, come on cap, Livvy could do with a few more late night romps; let her be a teen before she hits twenty."

"Sweetheart, why are you up? Is everything alright?" Clint's gentle tones shouldn't have meshed with the tell-tale sounds of his arrows flying off his bow, but the sound wrapped around her like a security blanket.

She avoided Maria's questioning gaze and didn't respond to her father's question, instead curling up in the chair, bringing her knees to her chest, letting the sounds and voices of the mission invade her senses. She knew she wasn't doing herself any favours by being silent, but she couldn't find the strength to tell them of her nightmares…again.

"Malen'kaya ptitsa?" Bucky's voice cut through the chatter, causing her to sigh before raising her head until she could see the screen with their images on it-provided by body cameras built of course by Tony.

"I'm alright, it was just bad dreams…bad memories. I…I didn't have a panic attack after, so there's that."

Olivia knows her voice isn't much higher than a casual whisper but also knew the team heard every word, if their shared looks told her anything. She could see her father's gleaming smile off of Natasha's camera, causing her mood to lift a little; she's come to appreciate him greatly in the past few months and now knew she was forever grateful that Coulson had found her amidst the rubble of a broken Surrey.

"Liv, that's wonderful! Remind me to take you for ice cream and a movie date when we get back."

"Last we went to the cinema dad, you sat in the rafters and threw popcorn at me."

Snickers sounded all over the comms, Clint pouting directly at the camera- letting her know it was just for her- before winking and whipping around to shoot an explosive arrow at what looked like a tank behind him. This caused her to fall silent, going back to observing Maria helm the command and watching her family move in sync to take down the base.

"Stark, watch your six."

"Ice man, watch your own, you got company in the form of three tanks. I didn't know steel was the new formal wear."

Olivia would have laughed if she hadn't been listening to Maria guide Natasha and Steve through the dangerous enemy territory. She focused on the radar centered on the area her father was staked out on-a tree and bush covered hill overlooking the compound- before several red dots blinked into existence too close for her own-and his she was sure-comfort. Before the brunette woman next to her could even look at the screen, Olivia was on her feet and shouting

"Dad, you got multiple bogeys right behind you, you have to move fast! Is anyone close enough to cover him?" Later she would be frightened by how easily she slipped back into soldier mode, the battle on the grounds of her old world flashing behind her eyes. "They've got you surrounded on all angles, you need to cover your arse!" Her gaze flashes around the screens, bouncing on her toes before she focuses on a flying dot. "Tony! I ca-"

"Already on it Sparkles, don't worry I got papa bird."

Tony's dot merged with her father's before the enemies started to disappear, the spike of energy leaving her suddenly which caused her to curl up in the chair again, Maria slipping back into command; the mission's sounds filtering in slower and slower until her eyes closed. The last thing she heard was Natasha's voice asking about the ride back home.

* * *

His soft voice was above her & his hands were carding through her hair, drawing Olivia from the memories racing around her mind with a small shudder, causing the conversations to cease.

"Liv, you okay?" Clint whispered, kneeling down in front of her.

She was silent at first, taking in his bruised and battered face before quickly wrapping her arms around his neck, a motion that caused two things: her to slip from the chair and him to embrace her quickly.

"I'm really happy you're okay." She murmured this into his shoulder, causing Clint to tighten his arms. "I was scared I'd…"

"Shhh shhh, I'm right here Liv."

"Hey, what's this? Papa bird is the only that gets the love?" Tony asked, fake hurt lacing his words, drawing a small chuckle from Olivia.

"Are you jealous, Stark? What would Pepper say?"

"You're words wound me, Romanoff."

As the two started bickering back and forth, Steve and Bucky kneeled down next to Olivia and Clint, similar expressions on their faces. When she sat back on the chair, they both reached out to push hair behind her ears while Clint moved back a little.

"You did very well on the comms today Liv; You saved Barton's backside today." Steve whispered, ignoring the small indignant noise said agent made. "I know I was very impressed at your response time, Maria said she would have missed those Hydra agents if you hadn't been watching."

She felt her cheeks heat up, ducking her eyes to fixate on her lap. "Honestly, it was like I never stopped giving orders…scared myself a little…"

Bucky smiled, gripping her hand gently. "Moya khrabraya malen'kaya sestra."

This caused Olivia to give him a shaky smile, the lessons from Natasha starting to pay off. "Am I really?"

Steve casted a confused look over to Barton, who was smiling brightly at the brunette pair, giving the blonde man a small wink before stepping back to stand behind Natasha; Bucky's soft reply brought Steve's attention back to them.

"You are malen'kaya ptitsa, I can see why you won your war. And I'm not talking about just the end bit."

Her face heated up but she smiled again, tilting her head as she looked at him. "Does that make you my…my…" Her face scrunched up, looking for the word before she smirked. "moy rodnoy brat?"

Bucky chuckled, leaning forward to kiss her cheek. "Da, I guess it does. Come on, let's get some food."

He pulled her up, along with Steve, before leaving the room, the others trailing behind them. Olivia was tucked into Bucky's side, a wide smile spread over her face as she listened to Steve tell a story from his and Bucky's past, something about Coney Island.

* * *

Winter holidays were not one of her favorite time of year, usually surrounded by students who drove her insane, the over bearing controlling Weasley clan, or the most recent time being on the run, huddled by herself in a tent somewhere before death eaters found them for what was the fifth and final time, dragging them to Malfoy Manor, starting the spiral that led to the end of the war. She still remembered Hermione's panicked sobs and could still feel the knife against her abdomen as Bellatrix straddled her, Olivia's voice long gone after hours of screaming.

So, suffice to say, it wasn't Olivia's go to time for a party.

That didn't stop Tony from organizing his annual get together, inviting not only the team but their friends, Stark Enterprise employees, & some Shield members-sadly no one from Coulson's team aside from Jemma and Fitz were able to come, the pair currently chatting up Bruce like no tomorrow.

But for a party she didn't think she'd like, she was surprisingly comfortable with the atmosphere. While not drinking aside from the ginger ale in the champagne glass resting in her fingers, Olivia was lounged against the bar, bodies swarming around her, thankfully not touching or talking to her. She should be used to throngs of people surrounding her, as six years at Hogwarts would attest, but it seems it didn't stick as well as she would have hoped. She was blissfully left alone for most of the party, that is until she felt a rush of wind, saw a blur of white and blue and heard very close to her ear

"Don't you look delectable printsessa." Pietro was too close for her own comfort, hand resting on her elbow. "Almost like you wore this little number just for me."

He tried to flirt, but it only succeeded in making her skin crawl. Normally she had no issue with the male Sokovian, but when he couldn't turn off his 'charm' it really got to her. Also, her 'little number' was a simple black dress that went to her mid calves with short black heels; nothing special and nothing deserving of the speedster's attention. She tried to move down the bar, away from the arm draped over her shoulders but he followed.

"How about you and I go and investigate the roof? I hear it's beautiful this time of night."

She cringed, pushing his arm off. "Maximoff, please."

Ignoring her expression, he smirked while leaning closer. "Please what, krasivaya?"

He was pulled away suddenly, two sets of angry eyes boring into Pietro's skull. Clint has a tight grip on his arm while Bucky was in front of her, staring the Sokovian down.

"Really Maximoff? Of all the females at this party to flirt with, you pick Liv?" Clint's voice was tinged with rage, forcing Pietro's attention onto himself.

"And you ignore everything she does and says?" Bucky all but growled, wrapping a protective arm around Olivia who leaned into him. "Pretty shitty move there speedy."

He then turned and pulled Olivia away from the bar, leaving the speedster to be raked over by the archer while moving towards the stairway, where she sat down and rested her head in her hands. Bucky leaned against the railing next to her, arms folded over his chest and watched her squash her own anxiety before looking up at him.

"Thank you. I don't know how to deal with…all that yet…"

"He shouldn't have continued the way he did and Clint's going to read him the riot act; Maximoff is part of the team, he _knows_ better yet he still failed to recognize the body language."

Somehow, Bucky fit himself on the same step as her, re-wrapping his arm around her. Olivia rested her head against his left bicep, the cool metal soothing the headache that had been building; she knew he had questions and she knew she was willing to tell him what Clint, Natasha and Coulson knew.

"I'm sure if factors were different growing up, I would have welcomed his flirtations but…I…there are still things you don't know Buck…about me…"

"You don't have to tell me you know, I mean it's you-"

"Vernon…h-he raped me, multiple times…liked to…say it was my punishment for being weird. I…I've been able to talk more about it, cause dad's got me in therapy and won't let me alone after I have a panic attacks about it. He won't let me hide it anymore…" The only noise she hears is the mechanical whirs in his arm as she felt the plates shift.

She lifts her gaze carefully to his face, seeing the checked rage simmering in his eyes, ducking her head again, prepared to move away and to her rooms when his grip tightened, bringing her closer.

"Milaya, thank you for telling me." He pressed a kiss to her hair. "I'll keep you safe malen'kaya sestra." He whispered, smirking after a second. "Although we all know you can do that yourself, after that training session last week. I'm still trying to process that move you did with Natasha against Steve: how did you flip without hitting the floor again?"

Snickering, Olivia ran shaky fingers through her hair. "It's a matter of channeling my magic into my feet to propel me up: once I figured out how to work it without a wand-courtesy of Wanda- it got simpler. It's still tricky, some spells are harder and I still can't do most non verbally, but I guess it's a plus most of my potential enemies won't know Latin."

Bucky chuckles, looking back at the cracked door, music filtering through. "Feel up to going back? I know they would be happy to see you, I think Steve and Tony talked about how many dances they could get out of you before the end of the night."

Smirking, she nods and stands with his assistance. "First holiday with no bloodshed? Wouldn't miss it for the world." Walks to door but pauses, looking up at him with a soft smile.

"Bucky?"

"Hmm?"

"Schastlivogo Rozhdestva."

He beamed down at her before nodding, leading the both of them back into the party. "Schastlivogo Rozhdestva malen'kaya ptitsa."

A/N: it's fluffy, I don't care, she deserves some cute stuff. I am in love with how bucky and her relationship is shaping up. Reviews and comments welcome.

Moya khrabraya malen'kaya sestra- My brave little sister.

malen'kaya ptitsa- little bird

Spasibo- thank you

moy rodnoy brat- my sibling

printsessa- princess

krasivaya- beautiful

milaya- dear heart

schastlivogo Rozhdestva- merry Christmas.


End file.
